CS-Cart 2.0.9 is out!
We would like to announce the release of CS-Cart 2.0.9. The latest version includes significant enhancement of free built-in modules set, as well as notable additions to the existing ones.
Recurring billing
Recurring billing is a new tool for creating subscription-based products with the ability to define initial product prices, billing frequency and time period. Such an approach is especially useful for membership fees, subscription services, hosting plans and other items where customers receive ongoing value. Recurring plans can be applied to any number of products, and each individual product can also be associated with several subscription plans.
Google Sitemap
Google Sitemap module, as it can be seen from the name, generates the XML site map which makes website indexing easier for Google (and other search engines). A site map allows search robots to define the location of website pages, the time of their last update and its frequency in order to index the website more effectively. This is especially important for big stores with a large number of pages.
File upload for products
There is now a possibility to use a file upload field as a product option. It is especially useful for customizable products (like t-shirts, mugs or postcards) where a customer can use his own graphic image to order a custom product.
Data feeds
Another new add-on, Data feeds, allows administrators to create any number of product data formats for export (using various data field sets). Such an approach allows to work with shopping directories (like Google Product Search, Shopzilla, Shopping.com, etc.) and adjust the field configuration (in case of a format change) accordingly through the easy to use interface.
However, the main idea here is allowing to either upload a resulting export file to FTP server, save it on a web server or simply download it (like in a regular export). Moreover, it is possible to create CRON tasks for individual feeds in order to generate and upload them via FTP on a regular basis (for example, daily or weekly).
Price list
The Price list add-on provides the opportunity for customers to get the product catalog in a convenient price list format (similar to those available in PC stores). A price list can be downloaded as a PDF or Microsoft Excel file, and the format of information can be customized by the store administrator. It is also possible to add product images into a price list (for PDF format only).
User groups
Membership levels are now called User groups and provide an extended functionality: a user can now be a member of several groups (not only one, as before). Besides, customers are able to unsubscribe from groups or, on the contrary, send applications for inclusion. Objects can also be associated with several groups, and (besides categories, payments, shippings and attachments) pages and products can now be made available only for particular user groups.
Other improvements
Other noteworthy features (related to previously available add-ons) include: the new type of design block (HTML block) and the ability to change the order of product tabs and add new ones. For example, you can create a new tab called “shipping details” for a particular product and describe the corresponding information within it.